Altitude Film Entertainment acquire Mary And The Witch's Flower for the UK

Andy has been writing for UK Anime since 2006, and was the site's editor-in-chief until August 2017. Contrary to popular belief, Andy is not actually a robot.

Of all of the anime movies coming our way in 2017, perhaps the most keenly anticipated is the debut feature from Studio Ponoc, a new studio founded by former Studio Ghibli producer Yoshiaki Nishimura.

The studio's first film is itself directed by another former Ghibli talent in the form of When Marnie Was There's Hiromasu Yonebayashi - Mary and the Witch's Flower is adapted from British children's novel by Mary Stewart The Littlest Broomstick, offering up the tale of a girl who stumbles into a school for witches.

Given the talent behind it there was always going to be a clamour to pick up the film for release here in the UK, and a report today in Variety confirms that UK theatrical rights for the film have been acquired by Altitude Film Entertainment - unsurprising when their parent company Altitude Film Sales were the company responsible for selling international rights.

There's no further news on the company's exact plans for the movie on our shores (the film itself is still in post-production before its Japanese theatrical release), but we'll be keeping a close eye on their strategy as the year goes on.